You were afraid of nothing. Confident you were right, not worried about being wrong.

You went for whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, didn't care what anyone thought.

Oh, you knew the risk. And you laughed in its face. Then slapped it upside the head.

I know you still cherish your reputation as a wild card, still love to bring the hammer.

But something is missing. It's big. It's been a while.

And since I'm calling you out for not getting down to it, I'll just get down to it.

A.J. Smith, you need to get your mojo back and sign some guys to long-term deals. You know, like you did in the old days.

Don’t look at me (my column mug) like I’m crazy. Everyone knows we’re buds. We can have this talk.

I know I don't know everything you're scheming. But you know I know enough.

And I know this:

The old A.J. would have already signed Antoine Cason or Louis Vasquez, maybe even Tyronne Green. Maybe all three. At least the old A.J. would be trying.

Now? Virtually nothing. Some preliminary talks. Waiting and seeing.

A.J., stop messing around. Training camp is upon us. That trio's final season under your control is coming up.

You can do it. You have it in you.

Heck, you extended the contracts of 20 players between 2004-07. That wasn't that long ago.

Included in that span were Shaun Phillips, Stephen Cooper and Luis Castillo, among other young guys who arguably had not yet fully earned those deals.

Phillips and Cooper got team-friendly contracts but were also rewarded because you deemed them to have bright futures. Those turned out well.

Castillo? Well, I liked him too, even if I wouldn’t have made him the NFL’s fourth-highest paid defensive end in 2008. But no one is perfect. And at least you tried.

Then you stopped.

Yes, you signed Philip Rivers to the richest contract in team history in 2009 and Antonio Gates for what was at the time (2010) the most money ever paid a tight end. But those were no-brainers.

Really, what happened, gunslinger?

I know the slowdown was initially because your boss was waiting to see how the labor war shook out. That made sense. But the new CBA has been in place for a year now.

I know your numbers genius and right hand man, Ed McGuire, can make everything work under the salary cap.

You can come up with all sorts of reasons you haven’t gotten knee deep into contract talks with these guys.

Vasquez has yet to play 16 games in a season, missing time with different ailments each of his three seasons. Green has been used only as a spot starter, hamstrung by his inconsistent play and his tremendous versatility. Cason has coupled a few downs with his ups.

But, A.J., none of that is enough to explain why you haven’t already or aren’t close to signing at least one of these guys.

Let’s remember you signed Phillips after one season starting alongside Shawne Merriman. Cooper had been busted for steroids (big time) in college and wouldn’t become a starter until the year after you extended him. I could go on.

I also know it takes two to tango.

These guys have to be willing to accept less money in exchange for immediate security. I don't think all of them will.

But the onus, really, is on you to at least make competitive offers. Now.

I’m not telling you what I know. You’ve got your secrets, and I have mine. It’s how we’ve always worked. But let’s just acknowledge you haven’t made a substantive offer to any of these guys.

More than anything, let’s consider the alternative.

It’s Jeromey Clary.

I’ve spent a lot of time defending Clary. He’s a fine right tackle. But you waited until he was an unrestricted free agent and had to give him $8.6 million in first-year money last August.

Or take Eric Weddle. I’ve long been unabashed in professing my love for that guy. I fully believe he’s on his way to justifying the five-year, $40 million deal you gave him. But you could have had him for much less a year or two earlier.

We don’t even need to talk about you letting Vincent Jackson go. It’s best if we don’t go there again.

Sure, it could turn out that a deal will cost you less after this year. But I’m betting not.

Look, it takes a lot of nerve to make these kinds of calls. There is danger in being proactive on these contracts. (I remember Shane Olivea.)

But, A.J., you always tout the fact you’ve stocked the roster with high-character guys. As a general rule – think Kris Dielman, Weddle, Clary -- high-character guys actually play better after they get the big money.

I didn't mention a couple guys that for various reasons I believe you're not interested in spending significant money to keep beyond 2012.

Cason is a no-brainer. You might be waiting to see what Vasquez and Green will do over the course of a season, but you should already know that one or the other (or both) would provide long-term security on the inside of the offensive line.